13. August

Today we meandered through the Viennese countryside on our way back from the Alps. On our way back, we stopped by Schloss Forchtenstein, owned by the Esterhazy family in the 16^th century when the Burgenland was a part of Hungary. Back then, Hungary was twice as big as it is today. In 1920, the Treaty of Versailles made Hungary smaller and gave control of the area that this castle was in over to Austria. From one side of the castle, you can actually see Hungary.

The interior courtyard of this castle is lined with paintings of Roman emperors and Holy Roman Emperors. This goes along with the idea that the Holy Roman Empire saw itself as an extension of the old Roman Empire. Also in this courtyard is a statue of Paul I, whom Emperor Leopold elevated from count to prince.

This castle houses the largest personal weapons collection in all of Austria. We saw the glass beads used as ammunition for the cannons and the different steps in making a rifle. Mortars from this era needed 7 kg of gunpowder and fired what was pretty much a basketball shaped rock. Many of

the weapons were produced there, with the others coming from defeated enemies. We saw glass grenades and the bags used to carry them. Carrying a bag of glass grenades while charging into battle or riding a horse does not sound like the smartest idea. Armies in this time were private regiments funded by the government. There still was no national army. We also saw the chair used for executions. Here, executions were done with the unfortunate individual sitting upright in a chair. The executioner would swing a large sword horizontally, and hopefully decapitate him on the first blow. There were many marks on the chair where the executioner had missed. In addition to this, there was a piece of paper describing how much various executions would cost. The castle also has armor from the 30 Year’s War, when tall soldiers would get paid more than shorter ones. It was interesting to see all of these old weapons and to see how the armies we have been reading about were outfitted.

This castle also has one of the deepest wells in Austria, at 142 meters. It took 10 years to complete and is made with the blood and sweat of Turkish POWs. You get an almost perfect echo. We all sang Happy Birthday to Amanda and dropped a coin in the well. On the way back, we stopped by the Liechtenstein Castle, which was closed for renovations, but we could still see the façade.